Without surprise, the first couple of days were a blur especially with a lack of water and sleep—so much that I was mostly like so:
However, the few events or moments of eureka that highlighted this state of lethargy are the ones that I will look fondly back on and remember.
The first was the panel. We had a group of Singaporean adults ranging in professions such as ship captain to chef to whom we could ask anything without any censorship. My first questions that I posed were on the demographics of the country and whether they were expected to change in the future. Singapore has a population that is around 76 percent ethnic Chinese, 12 percent ethnic Malay, and 8 percent ethnic Indian. Given the low fertility rate (1.25 children per woman) and that the government is encouraging immigration to keep the population stable, I wondered whether the ethnic makeup would remain the same without quotas. According to the panelists, it was expected to remain so.
My second question was related to the melting pot nature of Singapore: what food is uniquely Singaporean? The chef cheerfully discussed chicken rice, which seems to be the epitome of Singaporean cuisine and chili crab.
A variation of chicken rice, but with rice noodles at a hawker place in Chinatown. This place is one of the few places one can enjoy a Michelin starred meal for less than $5!
Besides my questions, the class and the panelists touched briefly on topics such as blend of culture, governmental authority and stability, and feminism, racism, and homophobia within the country. What I got out of the discussion was the struggle to grasp what Singaporean culture represented without projecting any of my own assumptions on it. Because U.S. and Korean cultures are what I am familiar with, I had to rely on their cultural standards to be able to compare and contrast, with the understanding that everything is relative. In other words, I am trying to be careful in not identifying what is “right” or “wrong” but objectively finding where the differences lie.
NUS, where we had several academic sessions, is absolutely beautiful. The mesh of postmodern architecture with the lush green of the tropical fauna brightens up the campus and seems to be a theme across the Singaporean skyline. Despite the country being so compact, I was surprised to see that NUS has a pretty spacious campus; however, it is in very close proximities with other colleges. When we went on a campus tour a few days later, we found that NUS and a nearby college actually share the same dining hall!
Lastly, we touched on maintaining water sustainability in the country. Singapore as an island imports its goods (including fresh green water). One of its innovations besides reducing water consumption (the most effective sustainable practice) is to recycle water through an intensive filtration system.
Us enjoying a sample of NeWater, a complimentary bottle given at the end of the tour at the plant